Race fans injured by broken glass

Officials at Charlotte Motor Speedway confirmed Monday that six fans were seen by medical personnel during Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 NASCAR race when a pane of glass in an unoccupied suite in Turn 1 broke late in the race.

“A pane of glass broke inward … and a few pieces of the broken glass fell forward,” said speedway spokesman Scott Cooper. “Six fans were evaluated or treated and released on property and returned to the race.”

Kevin Fox of Fort Mill was sitting in the Grand National Tower South, Section EE, when he heard a noise from above sometime after the 200-lap mark of the 334-lap event.

“I thought someone had fell or dropped a cooler or something and then I started feeling things fall on me and it turned out to be glass,” he said.

Fox said the area was “covered” in broken glass and he and his mom and several other fans suffered minor cuts. He also was struck on the head by what he thinks was a larger piece of glass.

“It was very strange. In the heat of the moment, it was hard to figure out what was going on,” he said.

Fox said he left his name and number with the track’s guest services staff but had not been contacted by the speedway as of Monday afternoon.

In May, 10 fans were injured during the Coca-Cola 600 when a nylon rope supporting a Fox Sports overhead television camera fell into the grandstands and onto the track, delaying the race.

In the aftermath, NASCAR banned broadcast networks from using the cable-held aerial cameras. That ban remains in place.

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